Urethral anatomy. The submucosal vascular plexus matures after puberty but undergoes great changes after menopause

Figure 45-2. Urethral anatomy. The submucosal vascular plexus matures after puberty but undergoes great changes after menopause. The amount of smooth and especially striated muscles decreases with age, and the striated components become almost rudimentary. (Reproduced, with permission, from Rud T, Asmussen M: Neurophysiology of the lower urinary tract as measured by simultaneous urethral cystometry. In: Ostergard DR, Bent AE [editors]: Urogynecology and Urodynamics: Theory and Practice, 4th ed. Williams & Wilkins, 1996, p. 55.)